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Talaria Superiority Fighter
With the post-Insurrection era of the Imperium as unstable a landscape as the galaxy as could be, some of the miracles of the Old Night that were rediscovered were lost, but not all of them. One of those designs lucky enough to survive the war of the Red Sands was the Talaria, found in one of the forge-cities as the Loyalists regained control of the Mars. The resulting prototype was turned into the Talaria, a successor to the Xiphon fighter, using the hard-won knowledge of the Great Crusade to strike a decisive blow against those traitors who had dared turn their back on the Imperium. History Thanks to the great Schism of Mars the origin of the Talaria STC has been lost along with so much other knowledge, what remained however, was a large fragment of the design, and a prototype that was housed within one of the Southern Forge-Cities of Mars. During the reclamation of the world it was rediscovered and brought to the attention of the Forge-City's new master, who immediately understood the potential of the craft. After several decades of adjustments and patching the original design's missing components over, it was brought before the ruling Magii of Mars as well as Legionary representatives. Due to the highly powerful and extreme manoeuvrability afforded by the craft it was decided that it was unfit for mortal use and put into production a full year before the outbreak of the Second Solar War. Though the fighter itself would be on front-lines before the close of the Insurrection, it couldn't be deployed to the Imperium at large before the Siege of Terra began. To make up for this the aircraft performed exceptionally well in the hands of trained Astartes pilots, with wings of Talaris shredding through traitor air formations with a seemingly unending barrage of air-to-air missiles while their craft danced around any sort of return fire. After the regrettable end to the Siege the craft was shipped to dozens of Orders throughout the galaxy, their high-speed manoeuvres dogging the traitor's steps all the way to the Eye of Terror during the Scouring. Such was the fervour of the pursuing forces that many would make alterations and patch-jobs of their craft to keep them flying as long as possible, for as long as there was a Talaris in the air, the traitorous forces of mankind tremble before it's challenge. Design Designed using the recovered secrets of humanity, the Talaris proves it's worth as a extremely capable air superiority fighter and another sword to be used against those that would betray His vision and turn their backs on humanity. Overall the craft is extremely manoeuvrable, thanks in part to the design, which proved to formidable during testing on Mars that a special requisition for Astartes pilots had to be made after those Mechanicum pilots who attempted to control the beast met with failure. Thanks to the specially enhanced physiology of the Astartes as well as their ability to integrate into the craft through the black carapace and MIU link it has flown untold thousands of missions to cut the enemies of mankind from both the skies and the void. A brute of a machine, the Talaria has a raised pilot pod, with extra armour surrounding the pilots position, this sweeps downward into the main body of the plane, which is significantly wider than most aircraft, and is used to house both the laser destructor array turret as well as the missile bays on the underside. It's forward-sweeping wings are paralleled by a secondary set of variable wings mounted to the lower hull, complementing the two blocky engines whose intakes run from the front of the body to the twin nozzles at the rear of the craft, punctuated by a single razor-sharp vertical fin place between the two engines. Between it's arsenal of air-to-air missiles and the block of lascannons mounted on the underside, wing of Talaria have been able to cut down foes many times their size, and prove that they are well-suited to keeping the skies under Imperial control. Armament Designed as a pure anti-air platform, the Talaria can still use it's on-board weaponry such as the lascannons in strafing runs, and even be fitted with the usually type of Hunter Killer missiles used profusely amongst Imperial forces. Make no mistake though, the sky is where this dagger of vengeance excels, stripping enemy craft down to size no matter how quick or strong they may appear. Laser Weaponry * Laser Destroyer Array Missile Weaponry * 3 Internal Missile Bays * 4 External Pylons ** Missiles: *** Air-to-Air: **** Flakk Missile **** Mk XII Hunter Killer Missile (air-to-air variant) **** Dominae Missile *** Air-to-ground: **** MkIX 'Voss' Hunter Killer Missile (air-to-ground variant) *** Anti-Augur: **** Justinian Anti-Augur Missile The most prominent weapon of the Talaria's arsenal is the quad-lascannon turret, more commonly referred to as the Laser Destroyer Array. Mounted on the front end of the aircraft's underside, it takes advantage of it's turret base to be able to move independent of the chassis, giving it an edge over other aircraft who's hull-mounted guns are fixed, and therefore harder to target at an enemy perfectly. Linked to the Astartes pilot through MIU and the black carapace, it increases it's killing potential significantly during dogfights, coupled with almost instantaneous travel-time of the beam, it is the perfect weapon for cutting down traitor fighters. While the lascannon can be used against ground forces in strafing runs the Talaria is at a disadvantage while doing so, as it's main benefit of being fast and manoeuvrable, is lost as they have to line up to a ground target. The weapon has proven extremely effective against both heavy ground and air targets, but the true potential of the aircraft is brought out when it is allowed to roam the sky or the void freely. The main weapon of the Talaria, are it's missiles. With 3 separate internal bays mounted on the underside of the hull it can pack a significant amount of firepower while not losing any of it's manoeuvrability thanks to excessive weapons mounted on wing pylons, slowing it down. Each of the internal bays opens up and extends a pair of launching struts with which the missile slot into. Fed to these struts by a rotary internal bay system the pilot can pick and choose which specific missiles they want to fire at any given moment, being able to retrieve and slot in new missiles as the situation calls for. While this system does limit the amount of missile able to be housed internally most pilots prefer it, proclaiming the adaptability to be a feature they could not do without. Specifically designed for the aircraft however is a variant of the much-used hunter killer missile found amongst the Imperial Army. An already solid missile system, the change-over to making it purely an air-to-air missile was simple by comparison to the Talaria's production. The on-board cogitator was altered to be able to hunt down aircraft exclusively, making use of both it's own internal augur and auspex, as well as that of the aircraft's to be able to take down foes. While the mainstay of the hunter killer missiles loaded aboard do belong to this new air-to-air mark, older patterns can be mounted that are adept at hunting ground targets, and are especially adept at doing so with the Talaria's help. Overall this system allows for 8 missiles -Whether they are small flak missiles or the much larger Dominae air-to-air missile- to be housed inside a single missile bay for a total of 24 internally loaded munitions all of which can be switched around at the pilot's leisure. While initially mentioned as a detriment to the Talaria's considerable manoeuvrability, it is also fitted with wing-pylons capable of carrying more missiles or other pieces of equipment to allow it to fulfil it's mission. With each pylon able to hold a pair of the larger Dominae missiles or up to 4 hunter killer missiles of various marks, it can easily add additional firepower if the mission calls for it. Control Systems A trait usually reserved for Mechanicum some Astartes vehicles, the Talaria features a dense integration system between aircraft and pilot, taking advantage of the marine's black carapace as well as a Mind Impulse Unit, it allows for an unparalleled amount of control over the air superiority fighter. Through a combination of the pilot's connections and several cameras receded into the aircraft's hull, an almost full 360° view around itself, partially to combat the lack of view the pilot has due to the armoured cockpit. This level of situational awareness allows for increased reaction time to threats as well as providing assistance when firing missiles, as targeting data can be fed directly to the missile's cogitator from the pilot themselves. This integration also allows for higher efficiency rates in dogfights when combined with the turret-based laser destroyer array, as it is able to be directly controlled by the pilot, aiming in the same direction they are looking. Though the cone of fire of the array is limited , partially due to the cockpit above and to stop wind resistance tearing it from it's housing during extreme manoeuvres, it has proven deadly, especially when facing against the older patterns of traitor forces. Mounted in the blunt nose of the aircraft is a strong set of augur and auspex arrays, while mainly forward-facing they can be set to sweep in a wider arc for an all-around look. It is in conjunction with these systems that the pilot and on-board munitions interface when scanning for targets at long range or attempting to defeat enemy defences such as Eldar holo-fields. The combination of the augur array scanning long range, auspex scanning short range, the Astartes pilot giving manual guidance and the missile's own cogitator and auspex means that once someone is in a Talaria's sights, it's next to impossible to escape. It is thanks to the direct interface though, alongside the superhuman gifts of the Astartes, that the Talaria has proven itself as one of if not the most manoeuvrable fighters in Imperial history. Thanks to the design of the aircraft's forward-swooping wings, multiple control surfaces, and vector thrusting engines it can pull off extreme feats of aerodymanic agility, this proving to be the main reason the aircraft was distributed to Astartes only, as they are the only beings able to push the machine to it's limits. Through extensive training and experience, a pilot can prove to be a significant threat, whether it be diving down upon targets, performing sideslip manoeuvres or deliberately stalling to shake off an enemy pursuer. Defensive Systems While the Talaria's main defence is to use it's speed and manoeuvrability to get itself out of danger there is not aircraft alive that is indestructible, and therefore it was fitted with several systems as a measure to limit pilot death, even at the cost of the aircraft itself. The entire pilot pod and nose section is raised above the body of the craft for several reasons, one of which being the placement of the laser destroyer array turret for maximum efficiency, but chiefly among them is the fact that in case of an emergency, the pod can fully detach from the body of the plane. While other aircraft would usually include an ejection system for the pilot, the Talaria instead uses the whole pilot pod to ensure survivability. This is partially thanks to the extra armour around the pilot's position, meaning it can survive direct heavy weapons fire for a time, and partially due to the already-existing manoeuvring thrusters that dot the plane's body. Using these small thrusters as well as several parachutes and small grav-plates built into the underside, mean pilot can survive the pod falling and landing, and hold supplies that will allow the Astartes to survive to fly another day. This focus on pilot protection has proven to be a solid idea, as thanks to this Astartes have successfully escaped and gone on to avenge the death of their previous machine. Although some legions have chosen to have this feature removed completely, citing a lack of honour in escaping while the aircraft's machine-spirit dies for your lack of skill. Like most other aircraft though, the Talaria mounts an extensive decoy system on board, allowing it to throw out many different kinds of munitions to fool incoming ordnance. With two of these pods mounted on the machine, one on the spine, right behind the cockpit and one on the underside between the engines, it gives ample coverage and redundancy should one pod malfunction. Engines Both the best offensive and defensive element of the Talaria lies within it's pair of powerful engines. With twin plasma reactors feeding into vector-thrusting engines and ramjet intakes for in-atmosphere work a formidable amount of speed is available to the pilot as they fly through the sky. With the combination of the engines vector-thrusting capability, the abundance of control surfaces spread out amongst both sets of wings as well as the extra forward planes on either side of the cockpit, the extreme control is what necessitated the use of Astartes pilots. The extreme tolerances that the pilot is put under both fit the aggressive nature of Astartes as well as their physiology proving to be a perfect match for one another. As previously mentioned the front of the engine blocks are ramjet intakes with pneumatic covers to keep them safe when not in use. While in-atmosphere they can be used to give a boost of power to the already formidable plasma engines output, and usually activated when a pilot needs a boost of speed to engage or disengage targets. For work in the void the aircraft has a several banks of manoeuvring thrusters set across it's hull that allow small jets of plasma to change it's course and direction. This is used to great effect in hunting down other void fighters, dodging incoming enemy munitions and ship defensive fire. Technical Specifications Talaria Variants Dune Serpents – Mustatir Variant History Learned from the hard-fought wars of the galactic west, Azus and his Legion fought many foes defending the Imperial borders in the Segmentum, and while their tactic of quick decisive blows to the enemy were effective, they quickly learned that they had to be ready to adapt to any situation. Through this doctrine the Talaria that had bolstered their armouries from the distant Solar Segmentum, was found wanting, for their needs. While the craft was swift and highly manoeuvrable, it lacked in versatility that the Dune Serpents sorely needed. To this end, several Techmarines set about repurposing their stock of the aircraft to better suit the demands of their particular type of warfare giving it the honorary title of 'Mustatir' as they built it into a whole new beast. The rebuilt aircraft, while resembling the profile of it's base design, showed great changes to both it's internal and external structure. Covered in cameleoline coating, weapons pylons and countermeasure launchers, it looked almost completely different, save for the large weapon under the pilot's compartment. Though the turret was done away with and replaced with a fixed weapon, the avenger bolt cannon that took the laser destroyer array's place was just as formidable, and would prove as such too. Deployed into the field against an unnamed Blackshield force that was assaulting over their world's desert planes. All but baffling the rogue astartes air defence tanks in their cadre, the Mustatir squadron wreacked havoc amongst their forces as decoys and jammers blinded and confused them, before the droning boom of avenger cannons tore their formation to shreds from all angles. It was soon after this victory and a string of others that the Mustatir was formally adopted by the Dune Serpents, as the design spread ever-outwards from conclave to conclave. Though local members of the Mechanicum were incensed by the alterations made to the Talaria, they too were forced to see the worth of such adaptation when faced against the full scale of galactic civil war, and as such were begrudgingly silenced. Design Fitting a more broad role of 'fighter' as opposed to the specific niche of 'air superiority fighter', the Mustatir gains a lot more tactical flexibility in return for a decrease in manoeuvrability and air-to-air firepower. The main advantage of the fighter, while outfitted with a variety of weaponry, comes from the trait all Dune Serpents are known for, stealth. The outer layer of cameleoline coating the aircraft's hull acts as both a visual and augur-defeating measure, hiding it almost completely. Coupled with the avenger bolt cannon replacing the laser destroyer array and the pylons on the wings, a degree of the speed and agility of the Talaria's design has been retained, but the number of plasma thrusters have had to be reduced significantly to accommodate such weaponry. Overall the refit has made the aircraft more in line with a stealth fighter, able to sneak it's way in through enemy defences to strike at a target before disappearing again in a puff of countermeasure smoke. Armament While certain elements of the Mustatir's weaponry remain the same, the major differences can definitely be seen in it's ability to destroy an array of targets. With the Avenger Bolt Cannon as well as numerous air-to-ground missiles and small bombs the craft can saturate areas with cluster munitions and shoot enemies from the sky with ease, weaving between return fire with ease. Listed below are weapons that have either been changed from the base Talaria design, or new weaponry that can be mounted. All base Talaria munitions specified above can still be mounted. Bolt Weaponry * Avenger Bolt Cannon Missiles, Rockets and Bombs * 2 Internal Bays * 2 External Pylons Air-To-Ground * Hellstrike Missile * Hellfury Missile Miscellaneous Munitions * Djinn Missile As the main armament for the fighter, the Avenger Bolt Cannon replaces the laser destroyer array previously mounted on the underside of the cockpit, turning in anti-tank capability for the more versatile weapons system that can be used for both anti-infantry and anti-tank combat. With the combined weight and bulk of the weapons system it cannot be mounted on a turret like the original laser destroyer array, and has to instead be fixed in place. While this does limit the aircraft's cone of attack the rate of fire, ammunition calibre and variable warheads allow it to put several dozen rounds onto a target compared to the 3 or 4 lascannon shots of the laser destroyer array. To allow the weapon to have the widest range of effect as possible against enemy troops it s fitted with an autoloader system that allows for up to 3 different inputs for ammunition types. Loading the gun up with various types of ammunition as necessary depending on the scenario, the Dune Serpents have maintained a certain standard for the weapon's load out. The normal ammunition loads for the Mustatir are as follows; Airburst Nervebane Rounds for use against infantry, Haywire Rounds for use against heavy infantry and vehicular targets, and the standard Explosive Bolt Rounds for use against a variety of targets. With all 3 of these in the aircraft's arsenal, it can successfully attack and deter any number of foes it faces. While the main armament of the aircraft may seem to be solely the arena of the Avenger Bolt Cannon, the missile bays of the Mustatir can hold just as much as it's erstwhile configuration, the Talaria. While one of the missile bays have been repurposed into ammunition storage for the main cannon, the two that remain can be just as easily packed with extensive munitions of various sizes and purposes. Hellstrike and Hellfury missiles are a staple of a Dune Serpents Pilot's loadout for anti-tank and anti-infantry strikes respectively. While the arsenal of missiles available to the aircraft is vast, there is a specific variant that has been purposefully-built by the Dune Serpent Techmarine Claves that has taken their particular style of guerilla warfare to the skies. Dubbed the 'Djinn' missile, it was created by the Dune Serpents to act as both as either a decoy or a jammer against battlefield augurs, fooling or blinding them into uselessness. The tactical avenues opened up by such a versatile weapon is indicative of the Dune Serpents themselves, building a weapon that allows for distractions and feint manoeuvres, giving them the upper hand. Through the proper application of this weapon many fortresses have been broken open and armies thrown into disarray as they lose communication with one another. To complement both the missile and the aircraft itself a mounting pylon was created that, while restricted in it's payload weight, can be fully detached once all it's ordnance has been launched. Used in conjunction with the Djinn, a Mustatir can mount several missiles and launch a full-scale decoy air attack to distract the enemy from long range, before detaching it's pylons and slipping away unnoticed by enemy augurs. Defensive Systems With further adjustments to the Talaria, the Dune Serpents were able to augment the fighter to suit their needs much more than the Martian design could. To maximise the effectiveness of the craft as an ambush predator, an additional outer layer of composite plating has been added that in conjunction with the onboard cogitators, acts as a form of active camouflage. This ancient technology has been adapted by the Dune Serpents into cameleoline plating to obscure the craft both visually and on enemy augurs. Able to display a rough approximation of the environment around it the craft's stealth isn't completely effective, especially when employed while at a standstill. While not foolproof when used in conjunction with it's speed and manoeuvrability during flight it leaves the craft as little more than a visual smear that is significantly harder to spot. At the same time the same crystalline structures of the plating are angled in such a way that augur and auspex beams have a high chance of reflecting off of the craft entirely or giving false returns instead. These bouncing beams scatter in such a way that fools most sensors, sometimes appearing as an augur ghost as the system struggles to understand the readings it is receiving. While the cameleoline plating appears to be a more specialised upgrade, the fundamentals of air combat have not been ignored with the variant either. Supplementing the already reasonable number of decoy and chaff launchers on the Talaria, the Mustatir adds 2 more of these pods onto the aircraft. Placed on the underside of the engine intakes , this pair of pods is filled with a variety of both electronic and physical decoys and chaff to fool any aircraft of munition lucky enough to have engaged it in the first place. These features of the Mustatir have been very specific design choices, both from the Dune Serpents themselves and the necessity of their war in the Galactic East, wit the harsh back and forth fighting of the front proving to be an extremely volatile and unpredictable place. Notable Talaria Fighters Wind's Edge - Of the Dune Serpents 29th 'Asp' Coven Blaring Steel - Of the Fire Keepers Grannus Tribe Valentus Rider - Of the Halcyon Wardens 7th Cohort Crying Victory - Of the Scions Hospitallier 3rd Batallion Category:Legiones Astartes Category:Loyalist Category:Flyer Category:Imperial Technology Category:Imperium Category:Mechanicum Category:Space Marines